


Alleyways

by BrightTerror



Series: BrightTerror's 2020 Whumptober [13]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Dani Powell is a Good Friend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fights, Fluff, Gen, Gil Arroyo Acting as Malcolm Bright's Parental Figure, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Malcolm Bright Whump, Police Brutality, cause they beat up Mal, cops are shit like usual, except the team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightTerror/pseuds/BrightTerror
Summary: Day 17 of Whumptober I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING (Wrongfully Accused)Malcolm has been working with Gil for a few weeks and after the Copycat case and people began to hold grudges against him. Especially when they find out who he really is.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel
Series: BrightTerror's 2020 Whumptober [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948378
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Alleyways

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all enjoy!  
> This isnt beta read so I'm sorry for any typos.

_ He had his guard down when the first hit happened. Unexpected and quick, it sent him stumbling backwards until he hit a wall in the alley. Ten years of working with the FBI gave him enough training to work on automatic. So, he ignored the ringing in his ears and brought his arm up for self-defence.  _

He had finished his work for the day and Gil had sent him home, however, him being Malcolm, he stayed at work a couple more hours after Gil, Dani and JT left. After only working with him for a few weeks Gil had seen how little Malcolm took care of himself and had taken upon him to make sure his kid slept and ate an adequate amount. But Malcolm was stubborn, so instead of leaving work at exactly five o'clock like he was told, he stayed up until midnight. 

Being so immersed in the paperwork, he only noticed it was dark outside after finishing the entire coffee pot. He drank his last bit of coffee and frowned when he took a sip from his cup and all he drank was air. When he went to make more coffee he noticed nearly all the desks were empty and it was eerily quiet. He looked at the time, 12:14am, the night shift officers were probably at lunch time or something, he thought.  _ Shit _ . He had to go home before Gil found out or he would never hear the end of it later. 

So, he stiffened a yawn and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face before heading out. He grabbed his coat and left for the day. 

He didn’t even make it three steps out of the station when he was ambushed by at least two guys. They didn’t even give him any warning, just walked up to him and hit him right in the jaw and abdomen. 

It was all unexpected and quick, it sent him stumbling backwards until he hit a wall in the alley. Ten years of working with the FBI gave him enough training to work on automatic. So, he ignored the ringing in his ears and brought his arm up for self-defence _.  _

He looked up to see the three cops that worked the night shifts: Smith, Williams and Johnson. They were glaring at him with their eyes full of despise and if looks could kill he would be dead. “What the hell.” Malcolm muttered and took a step back as they leaned closer. “Listen, I don’t know what you have against me. But if we just walk away, I’ll let it slide and not report it.” Malcolm said calmly. Years with the FBI talking down killers made him sound incredibly calm in situations where he should not be. 

“Oh, you hear that? He will not report it, how nice. Aren't you a goody two shoes?” Williams sneered. 

“We don’t care if Arroyo trusts you, you are a killer and a vermin. So, we are going to teach you a lesson and then you will quit. Understood?” Smith enunciated his words to sound more intimidating. 

“Whoa, I’m not a killer. You got this wrong. I worked with the FBI and I dedicate my life to  _ catching  _ Killers, I’m  _ not _ one of them.” Malcolm was proud of himself for keeping his voice this serene. He always lost his calm when people accused him of being a monster like his dad. 

“Liar.” Johnson said, gritting his teeth. “We know about your daddy.” He spit on him. “How can you show your face when you have that disgusting Surgeon as your father?”

Looking at Malcolm’s shocked face, Williams spoke. “Yeah we know about your little secret. It wasn’t too hard to find, a quick search and it pops off. Here’s the thing, we don’t like new people, especially not rich bastards like you who think they run the place, so we were searching for some dirt and oh boy did we find a gold mine.” 

“I’m not  _ him _ . And I will not be leaving my work. If you have a problem, you send a formal report, and they might transfer you.” Bright said, voice cold. “Now I will go home, and you will stay away if you want to keep your jobs.” Usually he would try to avoid confrontation, but it had been a long day, he hadn’t slept well at all since the Burkhead case and had no patience for people comparing him to Martin. 

As expected, that was the wrong move for Bright. So, the three cops exchanged glances and after some nonverbal discussion they began to corner Malcolm deep into the alley. 

Malcolm quickly assessed his chances of leaving unscathed, and they were low. He moved on to analyse the weak points of each of them to defend himself when they inevitably attacked. 

Seconds before the punch hit, he braced himself and hoped for the best. 

____

Gil was having a peaceful sleep for once. He had sent Malcolm home for the day and their case wasn’t a gruesome one as they usually were, so for once he was spared of ungodly dreams having to do with their day’s work. 

He woke up at around one in the morning, it might have been before or after that time, he was tired and half asleep when he had to answer his phone ringing. 

It was his boss, telling him that there was a disturbance call next to the station but none of the cops on shift had answered it. Gil cursed under his breath.  _ Damn the night shift _ . He quickly got dressed and called Dani to meet him at the station just in case he needed backup. 

He was pissed and tired and not in the mood to deal with the night shifts. He didn’t like them at all, there were a few of them that always thought they were above the law and were plain rude to anyone that wasn’t their boss, which also was Gil’s boss. Which was the reason why he was going there in the first place. 

When he got there, he heard signs of struggle as soon as he got out of the car. He grabbed his gun and flashlight and walked towards the alleyway, at the same time, Dani arrived and joined him before they both went to investigate. 

As soon as they entered the alley, they pointed their guns at the men who were definitely beating someone up “NYPD HANDS IN THE AIR.” Dani yelled. 

“Fuck.”

“Aw man.”

“Williams this is on you.”

They three men muttered to each other and turned around. Gil immediately recognised them, and his blood metaphorically boiled from anger. “Step away from the man. Any wrong move and I shoot.” 

Dani began cuffing them while Gil covered for her in case they wanted to go out with a fight. As soon as the three were handcuffed, Dani had her gun pointed at them while Gil went to check on whoever had been beaten. 

When he got closer, he shone his flashlight at the man’s face and immediately dropped to his knees. “Bright?” He almost yelled, alarmed. “Bright C’mon wake up.”

Sprawled on the dirty floor, was a very bloody and beaten Malcolm. His eye was shut from being too swollen and his lip was busted and bleeding, his clothes were all dirty and wet from the weather and he was currently unconscious. 

“Shit.” He muttered and yelled at Dani. “Call an ambulance. It's Bright.”

If looks could kill, the three handcuffed cops would be dead given the glare Dani gave them as she dialled 911 with her free hand. 

Gil cupped Malcolm’s face with his hands and tried to wake him. He was still alive, he had a heart rate and was breathing, but he was in a rough shape. He was going to make sure the cops who did that would never see the light of day again. 

JT had arrived by then, Dani had called him when she was on her way there, she didn’t know what they were getting themselves into so she thought getting the team together would be a good idea, just in case. As it turns out, it was. 

As soon as Gil saw JT, he called him to stay with Bright while he took care of something. Gil walked towards the cops and pointed an accusatory finger at them, jabbing it on their chest. 

“I get a call, saying there’s a disturbance right next to the precinct and the cops aren’t doing anything to help. Imagine my surprise when I get here and see the root of the problem is caused by the people who were supposed to prevent stuff like that. How dare you.” He gritted his teeth and tried to act superior even though he wanted to punch them. “You didn’t  _ just _ hurt a civilian for no reason, which is inexcusable. You hurt  _ my kid.  _ And for that I will personally make sure you get what you deserve. Each and every one of you should rot in hell.” He took a deep breath before going back to Bright. The ambulance had just arrived, and he was driving with them. He was not letting his kid out of his sight. 

JT and Dani took care of the cops, leading them inside the station so they could be properly charged and processed. Once they were done, Dani lost to rock, paper, scissors, and had to be the one who called Bright’s mom to tell her about what happened. JT was doing his best to hide his laugh at their interaction because Mrs Whitly sure sounded like a stubborn, feisty woman. He was beginning to understand where Malcolm got his personality from. 

Once JT and Dani got to the hospital, they quickly found the room where Malcolm was in. When they got there, Gil was already there and talking to an already awake Bright. 

Bright had an eye patch, some stitches in his face and his knuckles were bandaged. He looked like he had seen brighter days, but despite that, he was smiling at Gil as they talked. 

Dani and JT announced they were there and asked how they were doing. 

“I’m okay. Thankfully you got there in time and now I am having a lovely chat with Gil. I was explaining to him the art of different flavoured jellos and why lime was the best.” Bright grinned at them and snorted when Gil faked being annoyed with an eye roll before grinning at his kid. “However, Gil is very tired. He has eye bags as big as mine, which is very concerning.” He stage-whispered to the other two before looking at Gil. “Seriously, old man, you need sleep.”

“So, do you, kid.” Gil said tired yet fondly. He had lost count how many times he had said the exact same thing to him. 

“Well, you’re back to talking my ear off so it's good to see you’re okay.” JT said. “Back at the alley was the longest time I’ve passed without hearing you say some weird facts and it was unnerving.” His voice was half joking and unimpressed, but Malcolm knew he meant it. 

“Thanks, Jonathan.”

“Nope. Wrong.”

“Dammit.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Bright.” Dani chuckled. “Don’t go dying right after getting the new job though, it's rude for your team.” 

Bright’s eyes lit up. “I’m part of the team?” He knew they had to work together but he still was under the impression neither of them liked him very much. So, for her to say that meant he was making progress. 

“You keep solving cases and doing your thing and I don’t see why not.” JT shrugged, hiding the faint smile that was breaking on his face. 

**Author's Note:**

> You made it this far! thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thought in the comments about what you thought of it!
> 
> I am writing Prodigal Son and Criminal Minds the most for this whumptober challenge so if you like those fandoms you can subscribe to my BrightTerror's 2020 whumptober series!  
> If you want to come and chat find me on Tumblr as: @BrightTerror (My writing blog) or @Sherlock-Freud (My prodigal son blog)  
> Have an amazing day!


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